Power-driven cutting machine for shoulder pads



April 3, 1951 L. ALFANDARI 2,547,242

POWERDRIVEN CUTTING MACHINE F'OR SHOULDER PADS Filed April 29, 1948 sSheets-Sheet 1 .nu INVENTOR. l-lg- 9 40 Louis; ALFANDARI AFiUEZ VEYApril 3, 1951 ALFANDARI POWER-DRIVEN CUTTING MACHINE FOR SHOULDER PADS 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 29, 1948 INVENTOR. LOUIS ALFANDA'RI Ap 3,1951 L. ALFANDARI 2,547,242

POWER-DRIVEN CUTTING MACHINE FOR SHOULDER PADS Filed April 29, 1948 3Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. Loul's ALFANDARI JM'YJEWEY Patented Apr. 3,1951 PdWER-DRIVEN CUTTING MACHINE FOR SHOULDER PADS Louis Alfandari,Corona, N. Y., assignor to L. Alfiandari Machine 00., 1110., Corona, N.Y.

ApplicationApriL 29, 1948, Serial No. 23,880

6 Claims. Cl. 16462) invention relates to new and useful 1m.- provementsin power driven cutting apparatus, and, more particularly, aimstoprovide a novel and. valuable cutting machine incidental. to. theoperation. of which an. article, to be subdivided by a; cutting stroke;is manually placed in a receptor, there retained during the cutting;stroke, manually removed after completion of such stroke;

As: the invention. is' herein shown, it: is applied to: a. machine formaking fillers for shoulder pads. Asia well: known, shoulder pads aregenerally triangular in outline, and a practice in. making the fillers:for. suchpads. is to subject a. substantially square: mass. of. quilted,matted. or plural-layer softly flexible: material to a.- single cutdiagonally of. the square to produce two like substantially triangularfillers each for a different shoulder paid.

Said cut must be quickly and cleanly made, and desirably by acircularcutting knife. power driven at; high speed. A disadvantage, and in.-deed a serious danger, which itis the object of. the present inventionentirely to obviate, has been the chance of. the knife cutting thefingers or hand of the attendant, during the cutting operation, orduring the placement of. said mass in position. for being. out, orduring the removal of the cut parts.

By the presentinyention, a. receptor is provided for said. mass, whichreceptor is, mounted for movement. toward and away from the attendant,under control of the latter; in. combination with a placement of thefield of operation of the cutting: knife such that, with said knifeunder continuous drive from a power source, it is impossible. for theattendant accidentally to become: injured by the knife. The arrangementis such that when the receptor is positioned for receiving. thematerial. to be workedv on, or. for removing therefrom such. material,either before or after having been worked on, the receptor is betweenthe attendant. and said field.

Preferably, according tothe invention, the receptor is an open-top box;with a hinged. lid, andslidably mounted for movement away from theattendant into a roofedeover housing; at the field of operation. of thecutting knife, and then, moreover, with said lid. down over the top ofthe box.. Thereby, with. a. circular knife, the cutting be performedconcurrently with. the travel of the box: into the housing and; thencetoward the: far end of the. latter; Atreadle or. the. like may be usedto reciprocate the box, and prefer ably in such way that; a. foot thruston said treadleisnecessary to start the box toward and cause the box: tomake complete entry into the housing, and with a spring means or thelike for acting automatically to return the box to its positionimmediately in front of theattendant on releasing the treadle from saidthrust. In the latter: connection, means are provided for readily'adjusting the tension of said spring means..-

Also, as the invention. is preferably carried out, with said lid hingedand. normally spring urged toopen position, a device is provided wherebywhen the lid is manually closed down over the top of the: box, with thelatter at its forward position. and. just after the attendant has placedthe material to be worked on in the boX, the lid is: latched closed;but, furthermore, to take care of the casewhere the attendant hasneglected thus manually to close the lid, an arrangement is presentwhereby, almost at the instant the box is started inits travel towardentry into the housing, the lid, if not closed, is slammed down.

Means are also provided whereby the spring means. for normally urgingthe lid toopen position: is easily varied in tension, to modify theforce of the. spring action,

Means: are also provided whereby, when the box is returned. to itsposition in front of the 7 attendant, following issuance of the boxfrom. the

housing and so away from the field of operation of the knife, theaforesaid latch or the like is automatically released, thereby causingthe cover to fly up to a vertical position or therebeyond; and in thelatter connection means are provided, preferably carried by the housing,for holding the lid in. the position just-mentioned during all: thewhile the box. is directly in front of the attendant.

Further, means; are provided. whereby the means for causing the covertofly up as last described may be adjusted,- in order to have such lid.lifting occur at a point in the forward travel of; the. box best adaptedfor the convenience and c'el'erity of motion of a particular attendant.

Variousother features and advantages of the invention will be pointedout or become apparent hereinafter;

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects andadvantages thereof, reference' will be had to the following descriptionand accompanying drawings, and tothe ap pended claims in which.the-various novel features of the invention. are. more particularly setforth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a materialipart of this disclosure:

Eiga. his a.- perspective' view, looking. in a slightly upwarddirection, of an embodiment of the invention as now favored.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view, looking down on the receptor, the housing,and the trackway guiding means for the receptor, and fragmentarilyshowing the table on which these parts are carried.

Fig, 3 is a top plan view of the receptor, with the lid closed.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section, taken through the machine on the line 4--4of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a detail View, being, on an enlarged scale, a section taken onthe line 5--5 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is, on a more greatly enlarged scale, a fragmentary perspectiveView; this view also being a section taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 7 is a section taken on the line of Fig.6.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged detailed View similar to a portion of Fig. 4, butwith the recepto in its nearly completely forward position.

Fig. 9 is a partial horizontal sectional view taken on the line 9-9 ofFig. 8.

Referring to the drawings more in detail, a table top H! is suitablysecured to and at the tops of a pair of end supporting structures eachcomprising an upper bracket I! having two dependent slotted legs l2 anda lower skeletal casting i4 having feet l5 for resting on a floor. Thefour slots carried by the legs [2 provide, in combination with the boltsindicated and suitable apertures through the tops of the casting M, ameans for readily changing the level of the table top In.

The lower skeletal casting has standards l4 Each standard [4 has a crossmember Hi, to which members are suitably secured the opposite ends of aplate-like bar [1 for suspending as shown the motor l8. Also extendedbetween the two standards is a tie-box I'I of L-shaped cross-section,and in which may be laid the main length of a cable 18 containing thewiring connections to the motor; this cable going to a switch 253. Fromsaid switch there is a cable 2! containing the wiring connections to aplug 22 for insertion in a nearby current supply recepacle.

The side of the table top H] faced in Fig. 1 is that at which theattendant is positioned, either standing or on a suitable seat.

The cutting knife 23 is a circular one, fixed on a short shaft 24carrying a pulley 25 and suitably journalled in and near the top of acolumnar mounting 26 suitably secured to and upstanding from the bar H;and also suitably secured to and upstanding from said bar is a bracket21 on which is movably mounted a carrier 28 for a knife-sharpeninggrinding wheel 29, the arrangement being such that, with normally saidwheel out of contact with the knife, a spiderlike handle 33 may bemanipulated to dispose the wheel 29 against the knife for sharpening thelatter, then giving the knife a power drivenrotation. The knife 23 isdriven, in the direction of the arrow 3| of Fig. 4, by means of a belt32, between the pulley 25 and a pulley 33 fixed on the motor shaft.

To the top casing of the motor I8 is suitably secured a rectangularplate 34, of sufficient width to have projecting marginal portions atopposite sides thereof. The suspension of the motor from the bar is byway of said plate and a plurality of fairly long bolts, and nuts, asshown in Fig.

-1, so that by use of different nuts, washers, collars or the like, asshimming or spacing elements 4 between the bar l1 and the plate 34, themotor may be raised or lowered relative to said plate, to effect a beltadjustment, as to take up slack therein.

The table top It, for projection of the knife therethrough and up abovethe same substantially as best shown in Fig. 4, has a straight fore andaft extending slot 35. Parallelling this slot and for guiding a receptor36 in its sliding movements are a pair of rails 38 here shown as beingthin stock channels, arranged with their grooves facing each other.

The receptor includes a rectangular bottom plate 39, opposite edgeportions of which are slidingly extended into the grooves of thechannels 38. The plate 39 at its upper side and along its front and rearends carries bars 40 and 4| secured thereto. The receptor 36 furthercomprises a lid 42, also in the form of a rectangular plate; four bars43 outlining a diamond somewhat elongated laterally of the line oftravel of the receptor, these bars 43 suitably secured to and upstandingfrom the plate 39; a hinging means for the lid and as a whole marked 44;four bars 45 outlining a similar but smaller diamond, these barssuitably secured to and dependent from the under side of the lid; and ameans, including a pivoted latch member 46, for coacting with theswinging end of the lid for holding the lid closed.

The bottom plate 39 of the receptor is slotted as at 4?, such slot beingdirectly above the slot 35 through the table top l0; and above and inline with the slot 4'! there is a space 48 between the adjacent ends ofthe two bars 43 which converge toward the bar 4! (see Figs. 2 and 3), aspace 49 (see also Fig. 4) between the adjacent ends of the two bars 45which converge toward the bar 4|, and a slot Bil through said bar 4|.When the lid 42 is down on the bars 4B and 4|, the space 48 and the slot5!], these two always aligned with each other and with the slot 41, arealso aligned with the slot 49.

The slots 35 and Si] and said spaces 48 and 49 are such, relative to thediameter and center of rotation of the knife 23, that said knife canhave a cutting stroke through the material in the receptor, along theentirety of a central length of such material, in the direction oftravel of the receptor 36, incidental to a movement of the receptor fromits material feed-in and take-off position shown in Fig. 1, to itsposition shown in Fig. 4; it being understood in this connection thatduring said cutting stroke said material is lying fiat in the diamondshaped pocket defined by the inner periphery of the diamond shapedstructure provided by the bars 43, with said material squeezed downmarginally thereof by the bottoms of the four bars 45.

The housing 5| overlying the field of operation of the knife 23comprises side walls 52, 52, a back wall 53, and a roof wall 54. Thehousing 5| is open at its end facing the attendant, and the rails 38extend through such opening.'

For manual control of the back and forth sliding movements of thereceptor 36, the bar 40 thereof has a recess 55, engaged by a finger 55rigidly carried by and upwardly projected from the top of a lever 51rockably mounted on a rod 58 secured at opposite ends to the casting it.At the lower end of the lever 51 is a rod 59, having portions extendedon opposite sides of the lever. so that either of these extendedportions may be used as a treadle, to be pushed on by the heelbreast ofa shoe worn by the attendant, thereby to swi g the l e 5 f om. itsnormal position ar a-242 iaslin Fig. .1, and as shown .in dot and dashlines in 4), 7110 its .full-line position in Fig. 4, tomovethereceptortfi rearward to engage the contained pad with the knife23.

.As soon :as said thrust on the vtreadle is released, the lever 51efiects automatic return .of .the receptor to normal position, by swingback of the finger .56 toward the attendant, thereby to withdraw thereceptor from the housing 5| and advance the .bar 40 of the receptor tothe dot and dash location indicated at 4B in Fig. 4.

.Saidswing back of the lever 51 is effected by a coil spring .59., oneend Bl of which (Fig. 1.) is engaged with said lever, and the otherend62 of which is engaged with a neck 63 offset from a collar 64. Thiscollar, which with the coiled central portion of the spring 69 embracesthe rod .58, carries a set-screw 65; the neck 63 being tubular andinternally threaded for taking said .screw, and the latter being used toloosen its grip on the rod 58, for ready variation of the tension of thespring vtill by turning the collar -64 on .the rod .58, and for thenclamping the 001-,

lar to hold the spring under the tension desired.

The latch member 46 is pivoted between a pair of offset ears carried .bya bracket 86, see particularly Figs, 8 and 9, secured to the front sideof the -bar 40; said member 45 .being shaped .asbest shown in Fig.8, toprovide a space for the accommodation of an expansile coil spring -61 to:urgesaid member to the position-shown in full lines in Fig. 4 and in.Fig. 8, and to present a downwardly sloped tail 68.

The tail 68 of the latch member is for engaging 'E'StQP-baI-GS, forarresting the receptor 3-5 when advanced to the limit of its traveltoward the attendant. As the receptor completes this movement, the latchmember -46 is engaged at its tail by the stop-bar, and the latch memberis rocked,

as indicated at 46' in Fig. 4, whereupon the receptor lid 42 is by aspring means associated with its hinge means swung up, as to theposition indicated in Fig. 4 at 42', and there arrested by impingementagainst a pair of cushioned stop pieces forwardly projected from a wallH atop the housing 51 and secured thereto as by way of an angle brace12.

Thestop-bar 69 is adjustable on the table id by means (Figs. 1 and 4)including a pair of slots l3 and M through the table, and bolt and nutelemerits as indicated at and i5.

Referring now to the hinge means 44 for vmounting the receptor lid 42,and particularly in this connection to Figs. 6 and '7 (with occasionalcross references to Figs. 2, 3 and 4), a strip ll, as long as the hard]but only about half .as wide, and of the same thickness as the lid 52,is suitably secured on said bar so as to provide a step 18. The hingeitself, this marked '59 in'Fig. 7, is substantially of the same lengthas the bar H.

The long pintle 89 of the hinge at each of two points spaced along itslength, where pintleengaging curls from the two hinge leaves areomitted, is sleeved by one of two like coil'springs 111. The strip 1'!is cut away to provide a recess,

one thereof being indicated at 82, for each of said springs where thelatter sleeves the pintle.

The spring is! seeniin Figs. 6 and '7 has at one end a straight offsetportion 85 engaging an edge of thel-id 42 and at its .oppositeend astraight offset portion 85. A slant-bottomed lateral recess 85' in thebar .4! always receives the spring portion 84,; while a similar recess86 receives the spring portion 83 when the ,lid is fully closed. Thetension of the spring is such thatwere the lid 6 not present, the spring,portion 83 would be forced to its position shownjin iFig. 6 ortherebeyond.

The other spring .8l is similarly constituted, and the bar 4] has,.properly adjacent the lastnamed spring .8], recesses similar in formand .function to the recesses '82, and '86.

.As shown best in Fig. 7 a headed screw '31 is threaded into .a tappedhole "through the bar t! opposite the recess 85;, for entry into thatrecess to engage the portion 84 of the spring there shown. Spiraladvance of said screw may 'from time to time be effected, to increasethe tension of said spring, so that always, at the instant alreadyexplained, the lid will be snapped up to the position 42 of Fig. 4,.A'similar tension adjustment for the other spring is also provided, theadjusting screw thereof being seen .a't'BB inFig. '3.

All parts of the receptor are desirably made of metal, and to minimizeelastic fatiguing of the springs 81, the lid 42 of the receptor andt-helid carried bars '45 are preferably made of aluminum or analuminumalloy. When theplate 38 of the receptor, and its bars 40, ll and. 43 arealso .made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy, this is advantageous also,as thereby a light weight and easily movable receptor is provided andone the treadle operation of which is not tiring on the attendant.

The, attendant will be under instruction always to close the lid '42 forbeing caught by the latchmember 45, before applying a forward footthrustto the treadle "59. 'Should the attendant forget, or be careless, thelid will be automatically closed by thrust thereagainst of the frontedge of the ,roof wall of the housing 5!, substantially simultaneouslywith the initiation of a travel of jthereceptor toward full entry intothe housing.

While .I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of myinvention, it is to be understoodthat I do'not limit myself to theprecise construction herein disclosed and the right is reserved to allchanges and modifications coming within the scope of the invention asdefined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. In a machine for cutting filler material for use in shoulder pads andhaving a table top formed with an elongated 'slot extended fore and aftof the table top and a continuously rotating disc knife fixedly mountedbeneath the table top .with a portion of its periphery extended upwardthrough the back end of the slot, a slidably mounted receptor forcarrying the filler material to be cut rearward to be engaged and cut bythe knife, comprising rails mounted on the top 'face of the table top onopposite sides of the .slot, a plate having its side edges slidablyengaged in said rails to be slid rearward and forward relative to theknife and normally occupying thespace between the knife and the frontend of the slot, means for moving said plate rearward and forward, saidplate being formed with an elongated slot aligned'with the slot of thetable top and extended from the rear edge of said plate to a pointslightly rearward of the front edge of said plate, bars mounted on thetop face said plate .on oppositesides of saidlast-named slot outlining arecess in which the filler material to be out can ;be placed and a lidpivotally mounted onsaid plate to be closed over the tops of said barsas said .plate starts its rearward movement for closing said recess toretain the filler material in position therein during forward andrearward movement of said plate to insure cutting of the filler materialby the knife.

2. In a machine for cutting filler material for use in shoulder pads andhaving a table top formed with an elongated slot extended fore and aftof the table top and a continuously rotating disc knife fixedly mountedbeneath the table top with a portion f its periphery extended upwardthrough the back end of the slot, a slidably mounted receptor forcarrying the filler material to be cut rearward to be engaged and cut bythe knife, comprising rails mounted on the top face of the table top onopposite sides of the slot, a plate having its side edges slidablyengaged in said rails to be slid rearward and forward relative to theknife and normally occupying the space between the knife and the frontend .of the slot, means for moving said plate rearward and forward, saidplate being formed with an elongated slot aligned with the slot of thetable top and extended from the rear edge of said plate to a pointslightly rearward of the front edge of said plate, bars mounted on thetop face of said plate on opposite sides of said last-named slotoutlining a recess in which the filler material to be out can be placedand a lid pivotally mounted on said plate to be closed over the tops ofsaid bars as said plate starts its rearward movement for closing saidrecess to retain the filler material in position therein during forwardand rearward movement of said plate to insure cutting of the fillermaterial by the knife, and bars mounted on the inner face of said lidand shaped to fit into said recess in the closed position of said lidfor engagin the filler material to be cut and retain it in position insaid recess.

3. In a machine for cutting filler material for use in shoulder pads andhaving a table top formed with an elongated slot extended fore and aftof the table top and a continuously rotating disc knife fixedly mountedbeneath the table top with a portion of its periphery extended upwardthrough the back end of the slot, a slidably mounted receptor forcarrying the filler material to be cut rearward to be engaged and cut bythe knife, comprising rails mounted on the top face of the table top onopposite sides of the slot, a plate having its side edges slidablyengaged in said rails to be slid rearward and forward relative to theknife and normally occupying the space between the knife and the frontend of the slot, means for moving said plate rearward and forward, saidplate being formed with an elongated slot aligned with the slot of thetable top and extended from the rear edge of said plate to a pointslightly rearward of the front edge of said plate, bars mounted on thetop face of said plate on opposite sides of said last-named slotoutlining a recess in which the filler material to be out can be placedand a lid pivotally mounted on said plate to be closed over the tops ofsaid bars as said plate starts its rearward movement for closing saidrecess to retain the filler material in position therein during forwardand rearward movement of said plate to insure cutting of the fillermaterial by the knife, said pivotal mounting of said lid includingresilient means for urging said lid into an open position, and a latchmember pivotally carried by said plate and engaging said lid forsecuring said lid in its closed position.

4. in a machine for cutting filler material for use in shoulder pads andhaving a table top formed with an elongated slot extended fore and aftof the table top and a continuously rotating disc knife fixedly mountedbeneath the table top with a portion of its periphery extended upwardthrough the back end of the slot, a slidably mounted receptor forcarrying the filler material to be cut rearward to be engaged and cut bythe knife, comprising rails mounted on the top face of the table top onopposite sides of the slot, a plate having its side edges slidablyengaged in said rails to be slid rearward and forward relative to theknife and normally occupying the space between the knife and the frontend of the slot, means for moving said plate rearward and forward, saidplate being formed with an elongated slot aligned with the slot of thetable top and extended from the rear edge of said plate to a pointslightly rearward of the front edge of said plate, bars mounted on thetop face of said plate on opposite sides of said last-named slotoutlining a recess in which the filler material to be out can be placedand a lid pivotally mounted on said plate to be closed over the tops ofsaid bars as said plate starts its rearward movement for closing saidrecess to retain the filler material in position therein during forwardand rearward movement of said plate to insure cutting of the fillermaterial by the knife, said pivotal mounting of said lid includingresilient means for urging said lid into an open position, and a latchmember pivotally carried by said plate and engaging said lid forsecuring said lid in its closed position, and a stop bar mounted on thetable top at the front end of the slot in the table top for limitingforward movement of the receptor.

5. In a machine for cutting filler material for use in shoulder pads andhaving a table top formed with an elongated slot extended fore and aftof the table top and a continuously rotating disc knife fixedly mountedbeneath the table top with a portion of its periphery extended upwardthrough the back end of the slot, a slidably mounted receptor forcarrying the filler material to be cut rearward to be engaged and cut bythe knife, comprising rails mounted on the top face of the table top onopposite sides of the slot, a plate having its side edges slidablyengaged in said rails to be slid rearward and forward relative to theknife and. normally occupying the space between the knife and the frontend of the slot, means for moving said plate rearward and forward, saidplate being formed with an elongated slot aligned with the slot of thetable top and extended from the rear edge of said plate to a pointslightly rearward of the front edge of said plate, bars mounted on thetop face of said plate on opposite sides of said last-named slotoutlining a recess in which the fillermaterial to be out can be placedand a lid pivotally mounted on said plate to be closed over the tops ofsaid bars as said plate starts its rearward movement for closing saidrecess to retain the filler material in position therein during forwardand rearward movement of said plate to insure cutting of the fillermaterial by the knife, said pivotal mounting of said lid includingresilient means for urging said lid into an open position, and a latchmember pivotally carried by said plate and engaging said lid forsecuring said lid in its closed position, and a stop bar mounted on thetable top at the front end of the slot in the table top for limitingforward movement of the receptor, said latch member including adownwardly sloped tail for engaging said stop bar as said receptorapproaches its full front position to pivot said latch member to aninoperative position freeing said lid to be urged to its open positionby said resilient means. 6. In a machine for cutting filler material foruse in shoulder pads and having a table top.

formed with an elongated slot extended fore and :aft of the table topand a continuously rotating disc knife fixedly mounted beneath the tabletop with a portion of its periphery extended upward through the back endof the slot, a slidably mounted receptor for carrying the fillermaterial 10 to be cut rearward to be engaged and cut by the knife,comprising rails mounted on the top face i of the table top on oppositesides of the slot, a plate having its side edges slidably engaged insaid rails to be slid rearward and forward relative to the knife andnormally occupying the space between the knife and the front end of theslot, means for moving said plate rearward and forward, said plate beingformed with an 5 elongated slot aligned with the slot of the table topand extended from the rear edge of said plate to a point slightlyrearward of the front edge of said plate, bars mounted on the top faceof said plate on opposite sides of said last-named slot outlining arecess in which the filler material rearward movement of said plate toinsure cutl6 ting of the filler material by the knife, said pivotalmounting of said lid including resilient means for urging said lid intoan open position, and a latch member p-ivotally carried by said plateand engaging said lid for securing said lid in its closed position, anda stop bar mounted on the table top at the front end of the slot in thetable top for limiting forward movement of the receptor, said latchmember including a downwardly sloped tail for engaging said stop bar assaid receptor approaches its full front position to pivot said latchmember to an inoperative position freeing said lid to be urged to itsopen position by said resilient means, and means adjustably mountingsaid stop bar on the table top.

LOUIS ALFANDARI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 102,396 Hart Apr. 26, 1870375,887 McIntyre Jan. 3, 1888 686,327 Pierpont Nov. 12, 1901 822,555Rogers June 5, 1906 1 337,794 Mantel Aug. 16, 1921. 1,750,338 Weiss Mar.11, 1930 2,389,934 Rothenberg et al. Nov. 27, 1945

